Notre Dame football Pro Day: 3 Noteworthy Performances
Notre Dame football Pro Day: 3 Noteworthy Performances
Kurt Hinish
Kurt Hinish has been a mainstay on the Notre Dame football defensive line in recent seasons. With his thick eye black, Hinish was an intimidating defender during his time in South Bend. There hasn’t been a ton of hype around Kurt Hinish as far as the NFL Draft is concerned, though. The Pro Day offered him a chance to interview well, show off his athleticism, and run drills for NFL teams.
Immediately, the first number that popped off the page for Kurt Hinish was his bench press. In case you don’t know, the bench press is done to see how many reps in a row a player can do at 225lbs in a row.
The NFL Combine bench press record is an insane 51 reps in 1999 by Justin Ernest. Zion Johnson, an offensive lineman from Boston College did the best on the bench in 2022, with 32 reps. At his Pro Day, Kurt Hinish did a massive 31 reps. That’s an awesome show of strength.
😳😳😳@Truk_sauce made 225 on bench look 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 — his 31 reps would have tied for second overall and been the most of any defensive player at the #NFLCombine!#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/OjAITgY7he
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) March 25, 2022
The bench press is an incredibly important life for linemen on both sides of the ball. This shows their pure strength, and when you’re playing on the line, you’re trying to lock out your arms and keep the person across from you from doing the same. You need that upper body strength to get their arms off your chest. It’s invaluable.
In other spots, Hinish put up disappointing numbers. His 40-yard dash was on the wrong side of five seconds and both his vertical and broad jumps were at the bottom of Notre Dame football players competing at the Pro Day. Still, those skills are much less important to interior defensive linemen than the bench press is going to be.